The Tour (27 page)

‘Well maybe a husband isn’t what you need.’

‘Ain’t that the truth. It’s just that I’ve never done anything remotely useful so it’s hard to know where to start. Having Dylan was an accident, and as I said, I’ve been a pretty crap role model. I want to let him stay here but he’s so young. I know he’s got more sense in his little finger than I do in my whole stupid body, but I still can’t let him stay in a foreign country on his own, even if I had the money for the fees and everything, which I don’t.’

‘Well I don’t know much about your situation Miss Corlene, but maybe you could stay here with him?’

‘And live on what? Fresh air?’ she smiled. ‘Naw, that is most definitely not an option. It’s a pity though, I would have liked to have done something good for him for a change.’

Dylan approached the table. ‘Hi Mom, hi Bert.’

Bert couldn’t get over the transformation. Gone were the tattoos and the scary-looking spikes on one side of his head. Dylan’s hair was now cut short all over. Like his mother, he was devoid of make-up and he was wearing a normal looking t-shirt and jeans.

‘Wow Dylan, you look so…so different!’ Bert exclaimed. ‘Yeah, I went to a hair place this morning to get it cut. They were open extra early because of a wedding or something. At first, the lady didn’t want to take me but then she said she would be doing the whole world a favour if she got rid of the spikes. My God
she was funny
. Oh Mom, I left the envelope in there like you asked, but I don’t think I spelled the name right. Ashlynn I think I wrote. Anyway she was the one who cut my hair. She asked me who the envelope was from. I said I didn’t know and she opened it and took out the money.’

Bert noticed the glance Corlene gave her son, one that suggested he shut up.

‘What about those tattoos? Surely you didn’t get them removed overnight too?’ Bert asked jokingly.

‘Nah, they were just temporary. I might put them back on again sometime but I just felt like a change of image. Laoise, she’s my friend, she’s got a little tattoo of a treble clef on her neck, and it’s like totally awesome. So I might get something like that,’ Dylan said as he wolfed his breakfast. As he exchanged a shared smile with Corlene over Dylan’s bent head, Bert’s eyes were drawn to the door. Ellen walked in looking bright and happy. He was relieved. He knew she wouldn’t be cross about the fact that he had returned to Killarney without her. But at the same time, he would have hated her to feel that he had deserted her. He walked over and gave her a hug.

‘Hello Bert. Well, here I am. In one piece. Mary very kindly drove me back this morning. I have so much to tell you. Such an incredible day.’

Their chat was interrupted by Conor’s voice addressing them all. ‘Well folks, I have a few things to tell you. I must say this has been the most eventful trip I’ve ever had. I’ll cut to the chase. There was an incident yesterday involving an assault. I’m sorry to say that it seems Dorothy attacked Juliet, who spent last night in hospital.’

The group looked shocked and gathered round Juliet asking if she was OK.

‘I’m fine,’ she assured them ‘just a few stitches…I’m right as rain.’

Conor continued: ‘Elliot Heller has left the tour, and won’t be rejoining us.’

Anna smiled gratefully as Juliet squeezed her hand and Patrick patted her on the back.

‘In addition to that, Dorothy Crane is in the local Garda station awaiting a court hearing which is due to take place this morning. So, if no one else has any big news, I was going to suggest that we wait until lunchtime to move on with the tour. Anna and Juliet are both to be called as witnesses for the court hearing. If Dorothy’s case is called first, then we can base our next move on the outcome of the court case. Is that OK with everyone?’

General murmurs of agreement emanated from the group, most of whom were stunned at the news of Dorothy’s situation.

As Conor turned to leave, Patrick approached him. ‘Everything OK Patrick? I see you went back to Cork yesterday,’ he added with a smile.

Patrick struggled to find the words. ‘Eh yeah. I sure did. Conor…I was wondering if…now it may not be allowed…and I totally understand…but eh…would it be OK if Cynthia joined us for the end of the tour? I will pay of course…It’s just that I’d like to…’ Patrick blushed beetroot red with embarrassment.

Conor resisted the urge to tease him. ‘Well Patrick, I’m only insured to carry the originally booked members of the tour with me, but so much off the wall stuff has gone on this tour, I can probably bend the rules a bit since it’s only for two more nights. Anyway, the departure of Elliot Heller means that we now have one free space. On the money front, don’t worry about it. I won’t say anything if you don’t. On the hotel thing, well if you need another room I’m sure the Dunshane can oblige. Just pay for any extra meals. I’ll square it with the manager.’

Patrick’s wide grin almost cracked his face in two. ‘That’s great, Conor, really great! Thanks Buddy!’ he said, giving Conor a high five.

Chapter 29

Diarmuid, Laoise and Siobhán arrived into the dining room just as everyone was about to leave. They spotted Dylan’s table and waved.

‘Oh hi guys,’ Dylan said, introducing them to Corlene and Bert.

‘These are my friends from Cork who offered to help me with the music college,’ he said by way of explanation.

‘I’m so sorry to have to say this and I’m really,
really grateful
. It’s totally amazing that you would offer to help me like that, but I spoke to my Mom last night and it’s just not gonna be doable. I really do want to learn the pipes and stay here, but even if I stayed with you guys, we don’t have the money for the fees or to buy books or anything. But I was thinking maybe I could get a job back in the States for a year or two, and save hard, and then come back and try to get in again.’

‘What? Ah no!’ cried Laoise. ‘Surely you can find the money somehow?’

‘No Laoise, Mom and I talked about it all night. There’s just no way. Believe me no one is sorrier about this than me,’ he said, visibly upset. ‘But...’ Laoise began

Siobhán interrupted her. ‘Laoise, it’s really not our business. Well Dylan, the offer is there. I do understand it’s a lot of money and I’m not sure I’d allow Laoise to go and live in America if the situation was reversed, so it’s Corlene and Dylan’s decision.’

Corlene gazed at this extraordinary Irish woman. She was dressed like a yoga teacher, she thought, floor-length skirt and a tie-died T-shirt that Corlene wouldn’t be seen dead in but she seemed nice, trustworthy.

‘Can I get you a coffee?’ Corlene asked her. ‘We all have to wait around here in the hotel until lunchtime, for a reason that I just couldn’t begin to explain. So, you might as well.’

Dylan and Laoise looked at each other. ‘Er, we might just go for a walk OK?’ Laoise announced, and without waiting for an answer, grabbed Dylan by the hand and dragged him away.

Diarmuid’s mobile rang and he moved out to the corridor to take his call.

Corlene continued her assessment of the woman sitting opposite her. She had lived her entire life in a world where nobody gave anybody anything for nothing. She wondered what was in it for this Irish family. This woman “Shove-on”, or whatever she was called, struck her as someone who liked straight talking.

‘I hope this won’t come across as rude or ungrateful,’ she said, ‘but why did you offer to help my son? I mean you barely know him. And, let’s face it, anyone can see he is crazy about your daughter. So, why are you offering to bring this stranger who has designs on your youngest child into your home? I’m failing to see the angle here.’

Siobhán held up her hands.

‘It’s a fair question. One I would be asking in your position too. So no, I don’t think you’re rude. You’re being a mother. You’re looking out for your child. We told Dylan that everything hung on your agreement. OK, we made the offer for two reasons. Firstly, Diarmuid is totally incapable of denying Laoise anything, and she wants him to stay in Ireland. Secondly though, and this is the bigger reason, Diarmuid really loves the pipes and lots of people helped him when he was young. None of his family was particularly into traditional music, so he was dependent on the kindness of strangers who shared their love of the instrument and talent with him in order to help him get to where he is today.

‘He has been fairly successful and we have built a good life for ourselves and our kids, largely funded by music. If nobody had helped him when he was young, then none of that could have happened, and he would probably have spent his life working in a bank or on a building site instead of doing what he loves. He has passed his talent on to our kids, and they all are stuck in the music world. I suppose with Dylan Diarmuid sees it as his chance to pay something back. Does that make sense? I know he’s mad about Laoise, but I can tell you she’s more than able to stand up for herself. If I was to be worried about anyone I have to say it’s Dylan I’d be worried about to be honest. My husband is a very easy-going man but when it comes to his daughters, he wouldn’t stand for any carry-on from boys. He’s made that abundantly clear to Dylan.’

Corlene laughed. ‘I would have liked to be able to do this for him, I’m his mother but I guess I haven’t always been a great role model. It’s not an excuse I know, but I was a single mom and I spent all my time trying to find the perfect marriage. Not everyone is as lucky as you, you know!’

Siobhán gave a throaty chuckle and said: ‘Are you joking or what? We don’t have a perfect relationship I can assure you. Diarmuid and I
do have
an understanding though. I don’t give in to every notion he takes, and he doesn’t give in to every one of mine. But if one of us says that something is important, then the other tends to accept it. It’s worked for the past twenty-five years so we’ll probably stick with that strategy.’

‘Sounds like a good plan,’ Corlene agreed. ‘When I said a few minutes ago that I wasn’t always a great role model, that was to understate the case. I’m sure he told you I was a lousy mom. We had a big, long talk about everything last night…probably the first time I’ve ever had a proper conversation with him. I know how much this music study thing means to him…studying that pipe thing that I can’t pronounce…and I
really
do wish there was some way I could help him to make this happen, but I’m flat broke. It’s just impossible.’

Eyes brimming with tears, she added: ‘I do love him you know.’

Siobhán handed her a tissue. ‘Of course you do. Being a mother isn’t an easy road for anyone, despite how it appears to an outsider. I can tell you there have been times when I’ve been fit to murder all of mine, mostly Laoise, it must be said. But at the end of the day, they’re your kids and you’d do anything for them. It’s a simple as that.’

Corlene smiled gratefully. At last, someone who didn’t judge her.

‘Look, I completely understand if you don’t want Dylan to stay with us, even if you had the money. I mean, as I said, I wouldn’t probably allow it, if the situation were reversed. I can barely manage Laoise when I have her in my sights, let alone if she was left to her own devices. God alone knows what she’d get up to. But our offer stands and, maybe he can work for a while in the States and make the fees and then come back.’

Corlene trusted this “Shove-on” person… God, why couldn’t she be called something simple like Mary? At least she’d be able to pronounce that. The woman was honest and sincere. Dylan would be safe with her and her husband, safer probably than he would be with Corlene herself if she was to be honest.

‘Maybe he could get job. But he doesn’t have any skills, so I think it would take a long time to save up for the fees. But it’s such a shame. Music is all he ever talks about.

I’ve never achieved that much in my own life and I’ve spent all my time trying. I would like to think that Dylan will be different.’

Siobhán thought for a moment. ‘Well, my husband seems to think he has great potential. So, that’s good enough for me. He’s very rarely wrong on anything to do with music and he’s a great judge of character. Pity I can’t say the same for his housekeeping or organisational skills. But I suppose you can’t have it all.’

Both women laughed knowingly and Corlene felt a pang of envy. From the easy way Siobhán spoke about her husband, it was obvious that they really loved each other. Not in the way that Corlene had always dreamed about – expensive presents and romantic gestures – but something deeper, more solid. Dylan would really benefit from living with these people, get to see what a real family was like, how they lived, how they handled life.

‘Thank you Shove-on. I was suspicious when Dylan told me about your offer, but now that I’ve met you and Diarmuid I can see you are good people. I really would love for Dylan to get this chance. But unfortunately it’s a chance that I just can’t give him,’ Corlene said with an audible sigh.

‘What will the two of you do now? When you go back to the States?’

‘Well right now I guess we don’t have a plan. The tour is paid for, so we have somewhere to sleep for the next two nights. Then we fly home…but after that? Who knows? Don’t worry about us though. Something will turn up…it always does,’ she added with a confidence she didn’t feel.

Siobhán resisted the urge to offer suggestions. She was always being teased by her family for being a fixer. It was unusual that on this occasion Diarmuid was the one who was behind the plan to help Dylan. Corlene needed to sort herself out, Siobhán thought, and she sincerely hoped for everyone’s sake it wouldn’t be in the shape of husband number five.

As the two women walked down the corridor to the hotel lobby, Siobhán took out her phone and started writing a text message to her husband. Just as she pressed ‘send’, she looked up to see a small crowd gathered near the Reception desk. An impromptu concert seemed to be underway. Laoise was singing a melody and Dylan was trying to accompany her on the whistle – the pair of them sprawled on a sofa blissfully unaware of their audience. Eventually, Dylan spotted Siobhán and his mother, his face suffused with worry.

‘It’s OK Dylan,’ Corlene reassured him, ‘I didn’t say anything embarrassing.’